I’ve posted in the past about sexism in the geek community, which extends to the tech industry as well. This letter, written by tech journalist to her daughter’s high school programming teacher, exemplifies many of the concerns about gender equality in technology and geek culture. Being the only girl in the class and having little support from adults when the boys began to marginalize her led to a terrible experience – no doubt similar to what many women who enter all-male fields go through. How does one begin to change a sexist subculture? The letter is full of helpful suggestions on how to create a more supportive environment for learning. Continue Reading →

We reviewed Clarisse Thorn’s book on pickup artists here on MSP a while back, and based on that look at the “culture” of pickup artistry, it’s intriguing to note that it doesn’t go over so well in Denmark. According to this account of a frustrated pickup artist’s visit, Danish women aren’t receptive to pickup artistry because… socialism? Apparently Danish women don’t put any energy into learning to please men “because the government will take care of her and her cats, whether she is successful at dating or not.” It’s interesting to consider that certain courtship techniques might succeed or fail based on how the rest of the social system treats individuals. Continue Reading →

Thanks to a long-term study conducted by the UN, we now have some numbers on the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in southeast Asia. On average, one in four men included in the study (of over 10,000 total men) admitted to raping at some point in their lives. One of the key aspects of this study was that researchers did not intentionally use the word for “rape” in their questions. The questions instead described forcible sex acts. Additionally, the researchers distinguished between forcing sex with intimate partners and with strangers, and found that rape between married partners was more prevalent than between those not involved in a relationship. Continue Reading →

Don’t be that dude: handy tips for the male academic is a lovely post aimed at male professors who are sympathetic to the sexism and gendered micro-aggressions that many women in academia face. I like that the post recognizes the importance of collaboration in achieving gender equality, and I think a lot of the tips are applicable outside the ivory tower as well. Continue Reading →

Governor Jerry Brown of California just signed a law permitting children to legally have more than two parents. The rationale for the law is that ”Courts need the ability to recognize these changes so children are supported by the adults that play a central role in loving and caring for them…It is critical that judges have the ability to recognize the roles of all parents so that no child has to endure separation from one of the adults he or she has always known as a parent.” Of course, the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in California may also have something to do with the bill, which has conservative groups up in arms, claiming that it will harm children (I’m unclear on how that would work, but okay). Blended heterosexual families, too, will benefit from this law. There are also implications for polyamorous families, wherein multiple adults might inhabit the same household or at least share childcare responsibilities. Continue Reading →

In case you haven’t heard of the Red Pillers, they’re an internet community that is “an overwhelmingly male population advocating unpopular opinions on females, but it is almost entirely focused on attracting and seducing as many of them as possible.” This is in the words of a Business Insider column that describes the group’s goals and interactions. Many of their strategies sound like those of pick-up artists, while many of their complaints about how women are actually manipulative gold-diggers sound like those of men’s rights activists (or MRAs for short – check out some of their crazy logic over at Manboobz). I think discourse about gender is usually a good thing…but discourse built upon sexist stereotypes? Not so good. Continue Reading →

This Patheos blog post by Sunweaver discusses an uncommon dilemma: we’re very accustomed to people objecting to sex education because they say it’s against their religion, but what about people who object to abstinence-only sex education citing the same reason? She points out that “to use fear and shame to intimidate children into avoiding sex until marriage is to vilify something I see as sacred.” Further, she cites studies of abstinence-only education demonstrating that it is based upon religious belief, leading to this problem: “Abstinence-only is a religious teaching and it isn’t my religion they’re teaching.” We know it’s impossible to please everyone, but this is yet one more reason to embrace a fact-based approach to sex education. In an ideal world, at least, it’d be harder to alienate people with facts, but especially with sex, it can be (unfortunately) difficult to disentangle fact from belief. Continue Reading →

Every so often, I run across arguments about women in poverty or other difficult situations who should just, like, stop having babies already. The message “just keep your legs closed” is a prevalent one… but I don’t think it works, or that it’s remotely a good idea. First, until we get closer to universally accessible (meaning affordable) contraception, it makes no sense to berate women for their choices. Any “choice” made within an oppressive environment is not really a choice at all, or at least, not a freely-made choice. Continue Reading →

In a recent conversation, a friend mentioned that she was upset about about a pattern she noticed. She described how when Christians tried to convert her, her attempts to describe how hurtful it was were met with their disbelief – after all, everyone involved had good intentions! This set off bells in my head. Because when it comes to discussions of aspects of rape culture like street harassment or those supposedly-innocuous-but-possibly-threatening flirtation attempts that get labeled as “creepy,” intention is often invoked as a cure-all. “But he didn’t mean to be creepy!” Continue Reading →

GracieABD blogs about an experience being sexually harassed in her college classroom, when a student wrote on a mid-semester evaluation that her teaching would be improved if she taught naked. Her reaction – to use it as a teaching moment to educate her class about what sexual harassment is – was brave and inspired. I received one comment like that while I was assisting with a class; one student responded to the end-of-semester evaluation question “What did you like least about the class?” with something along the lines of “That I wasn’t dating the instructor.” GracieABD’s remarks about feeling humiliated and objectified resonated with me. Continue Reading →

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Recently, I saw a blog post called "I am not a puzzle box" making the rounds on Facebook. It was popular for a very good reason: it provided a metaphor that explains why "creepy" behaviors and harassment are so often made out to be innocuous, normal, or the fault of the victim.

According to a recent report (pdf), spreading sex education messages on social media such as Facebook can be effective in raising not only awareness of STIs and pregnancy but also increasing condom use among teenagers. Lead investigator Dr. Bull suggests that "Facebook for sexual health interventions is at least equally effective as other technology-based mechanisms, and these effects match those observed for more traditional HIV prevention programs delivered in real-world settings."

Twitter is a great place to hear about the work sex educators and researchers are doing all over the world. Often it will be the first place I see the latest sex-in-the-news story or it'll be the inspiration for a new sex ed project.

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Yes, you're absolutely right - some women and men try to prevent them in certain situations, such as when they ...

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October 11th was National Coming Out Day, which was established after the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. This celebration of identity is intended to promote equality, safety, and tolerance for all, regardless of sexual identity.

I have several friends who are medical professionals, as well as a few friends who work as patient instructors. They teach nursing, nurse practitioner, and medical students how to give medical exams by playing the role of a patient.